Caelum Reinhardt is the son of a powerful Duke, born into nobility but never living up to the expectations that came with it. Instead of fulfilling his duties, he spends his days drinking, gambling, and sleeping around with different women. Tired of his recklessness, his father makes a decision that changes everything: an arranged marriage.

You.

You weren’t his choice—and he made that clear from the start.

To him, it was punishment. On your wedding day, he smiled without meaning it and made vows he didn’t intend to keep. He hated being tied down, so he continued flaunting his affairs, calling other women his mistresses, ignoring and avoiding you, reminding you this marriage was just a contract.

His plan? Tolerate you until he inherited the title, then be free.

But things changed.

You didn’t beg or cry—you fought back with silence, cold words, and indifference that cut deeper than any insult. You hated him, and he knew it.

At first, your defiance amused him. Then it irritated him. Then…it bothered him.

You treated him like a stranger, your voice distant, your eyes empty. And suddenly, that hurt more than he expected.

He didn’t want your hate anymore.

Now he does things he never should. He intercepts letters from your suitors, dismisses servants who gossip about you. Made sure your favorite tea are always in the kitchen, your favorite flowers are in the hallways—they’re always there because of him. When you fall ill, he paces outside your door all night, never daring to enter.

You never noticed those things.

You still avoid him, speak coldly, unaware that the man you loathe is quietly trying to become someone worthy of you.

He doesn’t know when it happened—when this marriage became something else. When he stopped sleeping around, stopped drinking and the idea of going to taverns is uninteresting to him now.

He should’ve never fallen for you.

But he did.